Entry #15- The Halloween Cone

I was feeling pretty down today having received some slightly unfortunate, but not life altering news. I didn't feel like I could accomplish anything and for some reason I felt helpless, unwanted, and lonely. All my roommates were out at parties. Needless to say, I was in a rut.
While mindlessly gazing out the window, I saw one of the girls in my complex go by. We're not extremely close friends, but we do know each other and get along. I assumed she was coming to talk to one of my roommates, so I simply yelled "Come in!" When nothing happened, I again yelled "Come in!" A few seconds later, she scampered away; I knew then something was up, so I opened the door and on the handle was a plastic bag. The bag contained a bag of carmel corn, four brownies—one each for my roommates and I—and a poem that reads:
Since this is the time for goblins and bats

Halloween spirits and ghosts and cats
Happenings are weird and witches make brew
The following are the things I wish for you.
May the only spirit you chance to meet
Be the spirit of love and friends that are sweet.
May the only goblin that comes your way
Be the neighborhood phantom, the breeze takes away.

So by tomorrow, pick a friend down the street
And give to them a Halloween treat.
Fill this cone with goodies galore,
Then hang it on their front door.

You only have one day to do this, so hurry
Leave treats on their door and run in a flurry
As this cone moves along from friend to friend,
All good wishes go on and never end,
HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

This gave me all those warm and fuzzy feelings we as humans have grown to cherish and love. My mood immediately improved—the carmel corn didn't hurt either—and my night significantly improved from there.

Entry #14-Escaping from the Outdoors

Walking down stairs and across the courtyard to get a bottle of soda shouldn't be a big deal right? People who are lazy and have other people go get them are dumb right? WRONG! Any other situation, this rule would apply. However, because of the extenuating conditions that are experienced in Rexburg, Idaho; this is a special case. In order to travel in Rexburg in the winter and not be cold, it's necessary to bundle up like an eskimo to go anywhere. It's only October 29, and already at 8am in the morning, it is in the 20s. For a not-so-small town girl form Seattle, Washington... That's a huge change. Upon my request, my friend willingly braved the cold, and went and got me a drink form the vending machine. It wasn't anything big, but it didn't have to. Doing nice things willingly, tells a lot about a person. It shows that they are caring, and willing to go out of their way to do nice things for people, simply to be nice. Not having an ulterior motive is an extremely admirable quality; it shows the true nature of someone.

Entry#13-Healing Hands

When you're sick at home, your parents take care of you; give you ginger ale, bring you food, get your drugs, the usual. At college, you're in a totally different ball park. No ginger ale, no food, and definitely no drugs; unless you get them yourself. They aren't served to you on a silver platter, you have to drag yourself up, and to the store to buy them.
However, when someone gets them for you, it makes being sick a little more bearable. My roommate got sick the other night, and didn't attend our Family Home Evening group as a result. After FHE was over (around 9sih) one of our members came to our dorm—the opposite side of campus— and brought her juice and two different kinds of medicine in attempt to try to help her get better. The person whom I wish to thank is a average boy who lives in a small town. He's quite and meek, he does things selflessly and thinks of others. He goes out of his way to make my roommate feel special and happy. The world needs more good people in the world. Like him.

Entry#12-Bring my package HOME!

A couple days ago, I received a package from my mother. In it were the following; one package of Peach O's, one bag of Laffy Taffy, one bag of Nerds, tissues, hand warmers, popcorn, a lollipop, and two pieces of mail. I was so excited! However, the post office is a bit of a walk, and I had class a little after. AND the class was on the way home, so I just brought my package with me... BAD IDEA... Somehow, I managed to leave it in the building. I was in such a hurry to get to my class I forgot it. I was very distraught; that very night, I was craving Nerds, go figure...
So today I woke up this morning I I got ready and everything. Then a person came by and I was wondering who it was, because most people don't walk by our dorm because we're on the very end. There was a knock, knock, knock at the door and a thump, thump, thump at the door. But my father didn't say... you get the picture. It was however, a person. And he was holding my package! I was very overjoyed that someone had found it, and nonetheless, brought it to me dorm. It was very kind.

Entry#11-Being inclusive

In this constantly material world, there are few things that are affordable. Everything is constantly rising in price, among these gas, clothing, blah, blah, blah. However, if you go to a Desert Industries, Good Will, or Value Village you can buy anything as long as you are willing to accept a few defects with your new purchases (i.e. scratches, minor problems and/or holes). These stores are known for selling broken or unacceptable items including cd players that no longer play, bowls that are no longer microwavable, and clothing that sometimes has holes; not to mention that everything comes with a nice indescribable smell. However, despite these sometimes unavoidable setbacks, there is hope. There may be CD players that no longer play, but there are CDs that one can buy; there may not be microwavable bowls, but there are microwaves; there may be clothes with holes, but there are many clothes to comb through. In short, these stores are treasure troves for those who are willing to glean whatever is to be discovered. Deseret Industries is in fact, where I found myself earlier today. I didn't think I would be going until Friday, so it definitely brightened my day. Further more, my roommate called me before she left and invited me. Now this is the very same roommate, who I've done a certain amount of complaining against. To be quite honest, I'm not sure if she likes me at all, but it was very kind of her to invite me to go with her and her friend. She didn't have to tell me that she was going, she was under no obligation to bring me, and yet, she did.
One of the things that I have identified as a riff among society is that human need to be included. People are constantly oblivious to the person who is left out, though many have been feeling unhappy about that very thing only moments earlier. We get caught up in the fun of our friends, and forget those who are sitting in the corner. If only we were more inclusive; we would be that much closer to Zion. Reach out to those in need.

Entry#10-Study Buddy

My next door dormies are the best things ever. I don't always get along with my roommates, nor particularly like them. It's hard to study in my dorm because there are frequently people at our dorm or there is loud music playing. Not that there is anything wrong with having people at our dorm or playing loud music, just when its constant it makes it hard for a student—trying to get a 4.0—to focus. I mean, I can't get Asian F's my entire life... I therefore revert to plan action B, AKA the dorm next door. These girls are my life at this school. Funny, charming and entirely in an entire category of their own, they willingly welcome me into their dorm; you'd think they'd get tired of me and my complaining, listening in on their conversations, and sitting in their dorm doing homework, but they don't. One girl in particular is my favorite if I don't mind saying; she stays up continually with me and studies. Practically going through the entire text book to help me prepare for the test. We don't see everything eye to eye, but we do have lots of fun. She and the rest of the people are wonderful human beings and I will forever be in debt to them.

Entry #9-Ice cream for Music

Okay, so this isn't exactly from today, but here it goes anyway.
So my roommates are very loud, they like to listen to listen to music very loudly, and listen to music loudly... after curfew. Unfortunately, this makes the RA downstairs (practically underneath our dorm) very unhappy; she has to hear the not so good quality music, and also her 18 month old has gotten woken up before. So, you could say that she was less than pleased. Now it gets to the good part... Just kidding, she talked to us about turning the music down, and also about other rules that have been broken; curfew, boy, etc. And since then, the decibel of music has gone down. The Good Act is that she decided to thank us very nicely with some ice cream. To be more specific, Drumstick ice cream cones, oh yes, they certainly were sweet. Our RA isn't evil, she's actually very likable and reasonable. She only expects that we follow the rules. So this, was indeed a very kind gesture, and gesture of peace and gratitude; especially since she didn't give rewards to any of the other dorms who have followed the rules since day one.

Entry #8-Dishes can be relaxing?

So some of our FHE brothers came over and made souffles with us. They were very yummy, and the guy made them is a good baker. So we were just hanging out and talking in the living room and the kitchen (the kitchen is connected to the living room). And I realize that one of the guys was doing the dishes. I was a little surprised at first because I mean, let's be honest, who likes to do the dishes? It's almost as pleasant as falling 5 stories (idea courtesy of my friend). However, when I went and said "Oh, you don't have to do those!" Because they weren't even dishes we used to bake, he said that he didn't mind and doing dishes was therapeutic for him. Even if he doesn't mind doing dishes, it was still very nice of him to do them.

Entry #7-This One's for the Good Guys

The girls who live next me are wonderful people. They always let me hang out at their dorm because my dorm isn't always the easiest to study in. They are funny, and fun, and I'm very lucky to live next door to them. However, (just like all girls) they have problems; they need someone to talk to, they need someone (a guy) for advice. This is a very honest, loyal, and overall nice individual. He constantly visits them at their dorm, discusses topics with them, and jokes around with them. He truly is a good guy.

This is for the Good Guys.
This is for the good guys,
The ones who listen and care.
The ones who stop and think,
The ones who give up the flair.

This is for the good guys,
The ones who are honest and are true.
The ones who take your books from you,
The ones who walk you home from school.

This is for the good guys,
The ones who are loyal and worthy.
The ones who go on missions,
The ones who aren't here for the glory.

Entry #6-The True Nature of People

Throwing up has to be one of the most unpleasant things I've ever done in my life, except maybe taking a exam and getting less than a 85 or running out of Peach O's—my personal favorite candy in the entire world. Fortunately for me, I haven't had the experience of throwing up in quite some time; this does not hold true for my roommate; she happened to get sick this very night. We'll call her R1 so not to be confused and retain confidentiality. I have a total of 3 roommates, we live in a two room dorm, (but it's basically an apartment on campus). There's me, R2 her long standing friend, and R3 who shares a room with me.
So, like I said, R1 had the misfortune to be sick tonight. I don't know the details of what happened but I do know that R3 helped her, stayed with her and did everything in her power to make her feel better.
Another sacrifice that R3 made is giving up a night full of guys to take care of her, which only gains her more brownie points in my eyes. They had a room full of guys, and I'm not talking no, one per customer, this room had at least 5-6 guys; who, may I add were very attractive. In college, the last thing someone wants to be doing is taking care of someone sick when they can be out having fun. I believe that R3 has a good heart, sometimes she can be disagreeable to me, however that's not always the case. Today her true countenance shined through the facade she puts on, and showed me who she truly was. She's kind and considerate; she truly cares about the people are important to her. I've discovered that it feels so much better to look for the redeeming qualities of people rather focus on their faults.

Entry #5-Lost and Found

So this will be a very short, but I hope equally meaningful post—Sorry, it’s very late where I live and I’m a human. Therefore I require sleep—Today I received an email informing me that my keys had been lost. Bad news, I know right. I do not live in a house, so losing my keys=coughing up 35 buckaroonies to pay for a new lock and keys.
Good news, a very nice person turned in my keys. He not only turned in my keys, but the person used my flash drive (handily attached to my keys) to find out whose keys they were. He opened some of my files to get my name, and then used my name to find me email. Trust me, it’s not creepy; it was extremely considerate—especially for a ‘starving’ college student, even though I'm not technically starving. This person, although busy with his life, took extra time to help someone else out. He or she is an outstanding example of a person who thought about someone outside of his or her personal universe. He could have easily turned in my keys and left it at that; let me figure out that my keys were missing and go to the lost and found. Instead he eliminated a step for me (and much anguish and stress), and went the extra mile.

Entry #4-Those Who Reach Out.

So you know when you're having one of those really bad days, the kind where everything seems to go wrong; all you seem to want to do is curl up with a sappy romance movie and a pint of Rocky Road ice cream? Well I didn't have that kind of a day. However, my roommate has been having a lot of those days lately, which leads me to the Good Act I have to Report.
As I said before, one of my roommates has been having trouble lately; she feels discouraged and has been having problems with guys, school and any other problems that befall a 19-year-old. This boy noticed that she was struggling; that something was wrong. Although we only met him six weeks ago, he had the kindness to come see her and ask how she's doing. He went across campus to go to her dorm (a 15 minute walk) just to see if she was home. He then visited with her by talking and listening to her. It may not seem like much, but when I saw her, she was in much higher spirits than the previous day.
Let us consider a quote from John Dickinson "He certainly is not a wise man, who folds his arms, and reposes himself at home, viewing with unconcern the flames that have invaded his neighbor’s house without using any endeavors to extinguish them." What does this quote mean? It means being a good person, stepping off your predetermined path to be the Good Samaritan, and going the extra mile. It means we cant sit there and watch our neighbor’s house burn down. If we can help, we should and even if we cant, we should try. Whenever we can, we should reach out to people with a willing heart and earnest hands. Even our smallest efforts make the biggest difference; actions speak louder than words.